We live, simultaneously, in two different worlds. Ultimately, we live in the World of Nature, a world that we did not create and the world upon which all life depends. Most immediately, we inhabit a "human world" that we create ourselves. Because our human world is the result of our own choices and actions, we can say, quite properly, that we live, most immediately, in a “political world.” In this blog, I hope to explore the interaction of these two worlds that we call home.

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Gary A. Patton

I was an elected official in Santa Cruz County, California for twenty years, from 1975 to 1995. Now, I am an environmental attorney, practicing law in Santa Cruz County. If you would like to contact me, send me an email at gapatton@mac.com.

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Saturday, April 15, 2017

#105 / The Gig Economy #3

Among other definitions, the word "gig" can be defined as indicated below (and as illustrated above).

GIG:

A harpoonlike device used for catching fish or frogs.

The editors of The New York Times, thinking of a different definition of the word "gig," have titled a recent editorial, "The Gig Economy's False Promise." The illustration that The Times used in its editorial makes clear that there is a relationship between the so-called "gig economy" and the use of a "harpoonlike device...for catching fish or frogs."

I have expressed some significant doubts about the so-called "gig economy" on two different occasions:

These doubts are shared by The Times, and I commend their April 10, 2017, editorial to you. In short, The Times notes that the "gig economy" is based on corporate arrangements made with isolated individuals, and that in this situation, the chances are overwhelming that the individuals involved will be "gigged," as in the first use of the word mentioned in this blog posting.

The solution, The Times suggests, includes both "legislation" and "lawsuits." Both of these are based on the idea that our individual lives take place in a "collective" environment, and that we need to act collectively, not just individually, when we seek to structure our world to achieve a just result.

It is only when we act together (in other words, politically) that we can protect ourselves from the fate of that frog.